The All-American Meal

While trying to eat more healthfully and more sustainably, meals like burgers and fries seem to go by the wayside. Not purchasing factory-farmed meat and avoiding deep-fried genetically modified golden Freedom Fries can be an impediment in enjoying an occasional indulgence like this. However, with a few minor adjustments (and education), this meal is well within reach.

It is unbelievably easy to be apathetic about a concept such as how meat is produced. When I have tried to talk about those close to me about why I am striving to become a locavore and the topic of meat comes up, I have heard, "Oh, don't tell me! It's really gonna gross me out!!" on several occasions. Now, I'm not trying to be preachy and I feel that I am generally pretty unassuming in the presentation of my points. But I will take my opportunity now to step up on my soapbox and hopefully (when I actually have readers), I can educate some people about making appropriate food choices.

CAFO's, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, is likely where your meat comes from when you go to the supermarket and pick up a pound of ground chuck to grill some delicious burgers. These operations place tremendous stress on the animals, not only by forcing them into an intolerable living space, but by injecting them with growth hormones, dosing their feed with antibiotics, and forcing them to trudge around in an exorbitant amount of fecal matter. The videos that floated around the internet a few years back of people doing absurdly inhumane things in order to get animals to stand for long enough to slaughter them were not an isolated incident. This happens all over the country, and these animals are the origin of the meat you buy. Yum!

Purchasing local, free-range meat accomplishes several things. First, you are supporting local farmers who desperately need help in this era of enormous commercial farms. Second, you have more of a direct connect with the ecosystem than with commercial meat. Third, you can generally ensure that the animals were treated humanely during their life and are free of residues from antibiotics and pesticides when you actually eat them. The origin of the ground bison for my burger, pictured below, is a small farm just outside of Stevens Point. Amanda and I have passed by on our bikes before, and it is quite reassuring to know exactly where this meat came from.

In lieu of deep-fried french fries, I baked some thin slices of sweet potato until they were crispy and delicious.

If you want to read more about why you should avoid factory-farmed meat, I recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, What to Eat by Marion Nestle, and Grub by Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry.

NYC Green - No Impact Man

I recently decided upon New York University to finish up my education in the field of physical therapy. A rational person might think I would be mildly concerned about moving to a city with a population approximately 350 times larger than where I currently live, but I cannot wait to make the transition to life in the greatest city in the world.

Since Amanda and I have recently been attempting to live even more sustainably, I wanted to find out how I can continue with this lifestyle, OR become even more sustainable. Some things are quite obvious; New York has a terrific mass transit system, so our greenhouse gas emissions are bound to decrease. But there are some things that I wanted to know more about. Luckily, many of the books I have been reading lately have many potential applications to my new life in NY.

The first of these books is No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan. Beavan says that he always described himself as an environmentalist, but really didn't know how his actions were very different than anyone else's. With that in mind, he undertook a yearlong project to not only reduce his impact on the environment, but through various organizations and simple actions, leave a positive impact as well. Beavan lives in Manhattan, and during his year of no impact living, he gives up packaging, buying new things, all transportation with the exception of walking and biking, and eventually, electricity. While his eco-experiment may seem a little extreme (and it may well be), it teaches us some very important lessons about how our small individual actions can lead to large collective action. It inspired me to make several changes in my daily life which, hopefully, will inspire others to make subtle yet important changes in their actions which hopefully will inspire many, many others.

I strongly recommend No Impact Man (and Colin Beavan's blog) to anyone who cares about the future of our planet and how they can play a role in making that future as bright as possible.

The Food So Nice They Named it Twice

Couscous primavera was on the menu the other night, and this simple and quick recipe did not disappoint. Couscous is another item which we now purchase from the bulk bins at the Co-Op and store in a used sauce jar. We seem to be accumulating more and more jars and other containers that we would have thrown away or recycled, and I'm excited to fill them with things I would have bought anyway to cut down on superfluous packaging.

Anyway, the couscous primavera took about 25 minutes to make (including prep time), and was not only delicious but inexpensive. However, we may shelve this recipe until the spring and summer, at which time we can get all of the ingredients from the farmer's market and make this a very local dish.

Tofu!

This post is long overdue, but I'm finally putting it up! Last week, Amanda's experimental dish was Tofu Rigatoni Casserole. Since we could not find any bulk rigatoni at the Co-Op, we used some penne we had previously purchased and seem to always have on hand these days. This was a pretty easy meal to make, and one that produced a considerable amount of leftovers, which is always good - until we forget about them in the fridge...

Eating this meal reminded me of how delicious baked pasta dishes are, and made me want to make more dishes with a delicious layer of bubbly, baked cheese on top. But alas, while eating thick layers of cheese on top of everything may be a gesture bursting with Wisconsin pride, it is also bursting with saturated fat. Oh well. Every once in a while is certainly okay though.

Dining Out the Green Way in Stevens Point

The other day, I went to Cafe 27 for lunch, and halfway through declared it to be my new favorite dining establishment in all of Stevens Point. I don't know why it took me so long to go there, but I know that I will now instantly become a regular.

Cafe 27 is a restaurant that is committed to sustainability through the purchasing of ingredients from local farmers, and updating the menu on a daily basis to reflect what is available and what is in season. They also serve New Roots Coffee, one of my favorite local roasters.

Now, I have only experienced lunch at Cafe 27, so I can really only vouch for part of the menu, but I am eager to try some fresh baked goods some morning in the not-too-distant future. Until then, my mouth will be watering in anticipation of the next batch of their delectable sweet potato chips.

The Adventures of Purchasing Bulk Noodles and Making Lasagna

One of the things that Amanda and I are going to try doing is purchasing more things in bulk to avoid all of the plastic and cardboard that seems to encompass everything on our planet these days. Luckily, we have a pretty schnazzy little bag that is the perfect size for holding lasagna noodles, and we just happen to be making lasagna this week. Boom!

Veggie lasagna is one of my favorite things to make. I can put one together in about 45 minutes, and the leftovers feed us for lunch the rest of the week. The only "green" change that we made this time was the aforementioned noodles purchased in bulk. Hopefully we can get our hands on some more of the marinara from our winter farmer's market, and some cheeses from Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Co. and make this recipe even more local and delicious next time.

Whole Wheat Penne with Marinara - Part Deux: The More Eco-Friendly Version!

Eating well in the winter while adhering to certain guidelines one sets for themselves can be difficult. Odds are the nutritious food you would purchase in the grocery store came from across the country, or if you chose a less nutritious alternative, they are probably loaded with preservatives and have been sitting on the shelves for several weeks and are primed to stay there for several weeks more. That is why when Amanda and I heard about a winter farmer's market taking place at our favorite coffee shop, we had to go and at least check it out.

And what a wonderful surprise it was! There were only a few local vendors there, but you could tell that each of them had put their heart and soul into everything they were selling. There were potatoes, eggs, myriad meats, sauces, baked goods, and gluten-free energy bars, not to mention those selling non-edible items such as homemade soap and yarn.

We bought some homemade marinara sauce from one of the vendors, and decided to go to the Co-Op to finally start purchasing pasta in bulk to curb our purchasing of unnecessary cardboard and plastic. We bought a new jar which henceforth shall hold our pasta, loaded it up with whole wheat penne and waited patiently for dinner. And by waiting I mean we had an eventful day, where I was running around in excitement about my acceptance into New York University's DPT program and Amanda nearly smashed her finger into smithereens. When dinner rolled around, it was utterly fantastic. The sauce was much darker than marinaras we used to purchase from the store, and much sweeter as well. I can say with certainty that we will be at the winter farmer's market every week until we get the actual farmer's market back. It feels good (not only in my stomach, but my heart as well) to support locals that are trying to make a difference with what they sell, and I am glad we wandered upon these wonderful people.

Finish the Squash!

As you may recall from a prior post, we had a huge squash and unlimited possibilities for the leftovers. What we settled upon was a recipe for squash and avocados in a sweet chili salsa. This was a good recipe, but not necessarily for a main course. It's like -2 outside, we need something a little more substantial sometimes.

Yeah. Nothing else to say about this one really. We made it. We enjoyed it. We took pictures. And then we snacked afterwards because we were still hungry.

Green Stimulant: Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown Coffee

I am borderline addicted to coffee. I feel that I am noticeably more irritable if my day does not start with a cup of that magical bean juice (Mmmmm....bean juice. Makes it sound appetizing, doesn't it?). At the commencement of my coffee drinking days, how I got my coffee and where I got it from were seemingly irrelevant factors in my mind. Starbucks? Dunkin' Donuts? Sure. Paper cup? Eh, why not.

Nowadays, as I am trying to actualize more of my environmental beliefs, I find it imperative to only support suppliers of coffee who are committed to certain standards. If I can help it (when I'm traveling it is more difficult to do so) I only purchase and brew organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee. It is a mouthful to say, and a hassle to explain to someone similar to me a few years ago.

"Why does it matter where you get your coffee from? It all tastes just about the same anyway, and why pay extra money to get a bunch of little stamps on it?" It matters because coffee is a complex thing; not only in terms of flavor, but in terms of politics as well. You can bet brands like Folgers, Starbucks, and Dunkin' Donuts have decimated large areas of rainforest to clear space to exclusively grow fields and fields of coffee. I understand the concept of supply and demand, but clearing huge areas to grow coffee is detrimental to both that eco-system and, much less important in the grand scheme of things, quality of the bean. Before these large brands emerged, all coffee was shade grown, as that was how the plant evolved over time. Genetics have since allowed for new hybrid plants to be grown that are more tolerant of sunlight and have a higher yield of coffee beans. To top it all off, these new hybrids became dependent on pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow to their potential. Now we have a trifecta of environmental devastation: habitat clearing, loss of biodiversity, and contaminated soil.

So there's why I support shade grown coffee. The reason I support fair trade is pretty simple: a higher share of the dollar I spend on my much-needed caffeine fix goes to the farmer and the community at the source, where that money is much needed. Much of the world's coffee is grown in regions where poverty is rampant, and large corporations such as Nestle, Sara Lee, and Kraft are buying huge amounts of coffee with no regard for hard-working people struggling to make a living producing sustainable coffee.

Last but certainly not least, is the organic label, which I will not even delve into. We all know why supporting organic practices is a more ecologically suitable option.

One of my recent favorite quotes is from Michael Pollan who says, "You can vote with your fork three times a day." Well, I think you might as well make it four, and vote with your coffee. Support brands that adhere to shade grown, organic, and fair trade standards. Now, I make my coffee with a french press, which not only tastes significantly better than drip coffee, but does not generate paper waste in the form of used coffee filters. I also began buying my coffee in bulk and putting it right in a vacuum container. The Stevens Point Co-Op has a myriad of different blends in bulk, and are ecstatic to see people bring in their own containers. We can all do something to reduce our impact, and researching what you can do to help can be a rewarding experience and make you feel like you're making a difference.

Baked Baked Potatoes Potatoes

Baking things twice always makes them better, right? Last night for dinner was twice baked potatoes, which was twice as good and twice as filling as boring old ordinary potatoes. This recipe was quite simple, and my only complaint was how long we had to wait for them to bake the first time through. The recipe also frightened me into whipping the potatoes for an insufficient amount of time with a threat of glue-tasting mush! Here is the link to the recipe.

Now, on to the matter of potatoes nutritionally. Did you know that potatoes have more potassium than bananas? Shocking! They also have a surprising amount of vitamin C. See, who needs to ship oranges and bananas hundreds and hundreds of miles in the middle of the winter when we can have potatoes! Hooray!!!

Quiche fit for Popeye

The other night, I decided to cook one of my favorite dishes that my Nana would always make. Spinach quiche is a fantastic dish, easy to make, and nutritious and not very costly. When I opened my recipe box to look for the 3"x5" card that held the recipe for this glorious meal, I discovered that only the ingredients were listed, with no further instructions. Having helped both my mother and my Nana make this meal in the past was quite beneficial that night, as the only aspect of cooking the quiche I had to guess about was the cooking temperature (which, I can definitively say after cooking this, I still am unsure of).

I made some variations to what I knew the instructions would have told me, and I believe they helped the dish. I'm pretty sure the recipe calls for the frozen spinach to be defrosted in the microwaved, then squeezed of all juices and mixed with the liquid ingredients. This time, with some successful improvisational cooking under my belt, I decided to sautee some garlic with the onions that the recipe called for (both locally grown), and added the frozen spinach (organic) after those were soft. The quiche had a noticeable amount of additional moisture, but the aroma and flavor of the onions and garlic brought a new dimension to the quiche.